Treadle-operated automatic gate



INVENTOR.

Sept. 2, 1958 I E. w. voss TREADLE-OPERATED AUTOMATIC GATE 2Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Sept. 18, 1956 ATTOZ/VE Y5 UnitedStates Patent2,849,810 TREADLE-OPERATED AUTOMATIC GATE Elmer W. Voss, Wagoner, Okla.

Application September 18, 1956, Serial No. 610,505

3 Claims. (Cl. 39-28) This invention relates to gate assemblies, ingeneral. In particular, the invention has reference to a gate sodesigned as to be normally maintained in a closed position, with thegate being releasably latched in said closed position thereof. Ondepression of a treadle disposed at one or the other side of the gate,the latch is disengaged, and the gate automatically swings to andlatches in an open position, to permit passage of a vehicle. Followingpassage of the vehicle, the gate is automatically disengaged from thelatch that holds the same in open position, and returns to and latchesin a closed position.

Summarized briefly, the invention includes a horizontally swinging gate,and at opposite sides of the gate are provided treadles adapted to bedepressed by a vehicle approaching the gate from either side. Connectedto the treadles are cable and pulley assemblies, operatively connectedto a latch that normally holds the gate in closed position, so that ondepression of either treadle, the latch is disengaged to free the gatefor movement to open position. The latch and pulley means furtherincludes cable connections that will pull the gate to an open positionresponsive to depression of either treadle, and a second latch means isprovided that will automatically engage the gate in the open position topermit passage of the vehicle.

The invention, further summarized, is so designed that the second latchis disengaged from the gate responsive to passage of the vehicle overthe second treadle, and spring means is associated with the gate adaptedto return the same to its closed position for automatic latching of thesame once again in its closed position, awaiting the approach of thenext vehicle.

The desirability of a gate of the type described will be readilyappreciated, particularly in rural areas in which roads must often beclosed where, for example, they pass through a stock fence, to insurethat the stock will be confined. In such instances, it is usuallynecessary that the person pull the vehicle to a halt, get out of thesame, open the gate, and after returning to the vehicle and driving thesame through the gate, stop the vehicle once again for the purpose ofclosing the gate. Obviously, this is an annoying and time-consumingtask. The invention is so designed that the gate will automatically openas the vehicle approaches the same from either direction, and willautomatically close behind the vehicle immediately after the vehicle haspassed through the gate, all without the necessity of stopping thevehicle.

One object of importance is to provide a generally improved mechanism ofthe type described, that can be readily installed at any location atwhich a gate may be desired.

A second object is to design the mechanism in such a manner that it willact efiiciently under all circumstances.

A third object is to so design the gate that it will open and close withminimum necessity of properly, locating the vehicle relative to thethreadles of the device, the treadles being so designed as to bedepressible under the imposition of a predetermined weight, which weightwill 2,849,810 Patented Sept. 2, 1958 be suflicient even if only asingle wheel of the vehicle passes over the treadle.

Another object is to provide a gate of the type described in which thevarious cable and pulley assemblies will be protectively housed in amanner to prevent the same from deteriorating.

Other objects will appear from the following description, the claimsappended thereto, and from the annexed drawing, in which like referencecharacters designate like parts throughout the several views, andwherein:

Figure 1 is a top plan view of a gate formed according to the presentinvention;

. Figure 2 is a transverse section on line 22 of Figure 1;

Figure 3 is a transverse section on line 3-3 of Figure 1;

Figure 4 is a transverse section on line 4-4 of Figure 1, portions beingbroken away; and

Figure 5 is a section on line 5-5 of Figure 4.

Referring to the drawings in detail, the device 10 constituting thepresent invention is preferably mounted upon a large, concrete slab 12,in which is embedded the lower end of an upstanding, tubular, cappedpost 14 of any suitable material. Rigid with and projecting radiallyoutwardly from the post 14, at locations spaced vertically of the post,are flat hinge plates 16 in horizontal planes, and integral with andprojecting upwardly from the outer ends of the hinge plates arevertically aligned hinge pins 18 passing through openings, formed inhorizontally extending hinge arms 20, 20 secured to the top and bottomedges of a gate 22. The gate may be of any suitable design, butpreferably is a wire gate, to reduce wind resistance when the same isswinging between open and closed positions. I

Slidable horizontally in the outer or free end of the gate is a latchplate 24, adapted (see Figure 1) to normally engage between keeperplates 26, 28 respectively, the keeper plate 28 having at its free end acam surface 29 disposed to engage and bias inwardly the slidable latchplate 24 of gate 22.

The keeper plates are mounted upon an upstanding post '30 also embeddedin the concrete slab 12. By reason of the construction so farillustrate-d and described, it will be seen that the gate is swingableabout a vertical axis between the full and dotted line positions shownin Figure 1, through degrees, said gate, when in its closed positionshown in full lines, being latchably engaged to normally maintain thesame in its closed position.

An elongated pull-back spring 32, maintained under tension normallycontracting the same, is connected at one end to an eye 34 projectingoutwardly from one face of the gate. At its other end, the contractileor expansion spring 32 is connected to an eye 36 projecting radiallytoward the gate from an upstanding post 38 spaced laterally asubstantial distance from the gate suppolt post 14.

A post 40 is spaced laterally from post 14, at the opposite side of thepost, and is at a substantially greater distance from the post 14 thanis the post 38.

Referring now to Figure 2, the post 40 is embedded at its lower end inthe concrete slab 12, and immediately above the surface of the slab hasa deep recess 42 receiving the free or inner end of an elongated, fiattreadle 44 normally biased upwardly above the plane of the slab by thecompression spring 46 disposed adjacent the inner end of the treadle. Atits outer end, the treadle is hingedly connected for swinging movementabout a horizontal axis, as at 48, to an anchored hinge plate 50embedded in the slab. Underlying the treadle is .an elongated recess 52into which the treadle is depressible when a vehicle passes thereover.

The amount of weight required to depress the treadle can of course bepredetermined, and further, the distance the treadle is normallydisposed at its free end above the slab surface can also bepredetermined as necessary. The treadle thus might, adjacent its freeend, be disposed a distance of about four inches above the plane of theconcrete slab, this being sufficient to permit passage of a wheel ontothe treadle for the purpose of depressing the same. Further, the amountof weight required to depress the treadle can also be predetermined, andin a preferred embodiment approximately 200 pounds of pressure,substantially midway between the ends of the treadle, may be required.This is ample to permit the treadle to be depressed by any automobile,even if only one wheel of the vehicle passes over the treadle, with theconstruction still being adapted to prevent accidental opening of thetreadle under a lesser weight.

To the inner end of the treadle, within post 40, there is connected oneend of a latch release cable 54, trained within the upper portion ofpost 40 over a pulley 56 freely rotatable upon a cross pin 58 of thepost. Cable 54 extends from the post through a sheath or protectivesleeve 60 that is connected between the post 40 and a larger diameterpulley housing 62 secured to the post 14.

The pulley housing 62, as shown in Figure 3, carries a vertical pin 64,and freely rotatable upon the lower portion of said pin is a relativelysmall diameter pulley 66 about which the cable 54 is coiled. The cable54 as shown in Figure 3 leaves the pulley 66 to pass through an openingof the pulley housing 62, and this passes along one face of the gatethrough a guide 68 carried by the gate intermediate opposite ends of thegate. Cable 54 is connected to the inner end of the latch plate 24,through the medium of an eye 70 (Figure 1) carried by the latch plate.The latch plate is slidably engaged in a latch plate guide 72 that issecured to the outer end of the gate 22 and a small spring 73 isconnected between the latch plate and guide, said spring being acontractile spring and being so connected as to normally bias the latchplate to its latching position, that is, to the left in Figure 3.

A second treadle 74 is identical to the treadle 44, and post 38 is alsoformed identically to post 40. Within post 38, the treadle 74 isconnected to a latch release cable 76, extending through a protective,sleeve-like housing 78 that is connected between post 38 and pulleyhousing 62. Within the pulley housing 62 the cable 76 is trained aboutthe pulley 66, and is connected to the.

cable 54. As a result, depression of either treadle will cause rotationof the pulley 66 in a direction to shift the portion of cable 54 thatextends along the gate 22,

to the right in Figure 3 for the purpose of pulling back the latch plate24.

It is thus seen that on approach of the gate from either side by avehicle, and depression of either the treadle 44 or the treadle 74, thelatch plate 24 will be pulled back and disengaged from its keepers 26,28 to free the gate 22 for swinging movement to its open position shownin dotted lines in Figure l.

A gate-opening cable 79, relatively short in length, is wound about andis fixedly secured to a large diameter pulley 80 within pulley housing62 (see Figure 3). Pulley 80 can be of any diameter, but it is preferredthat it be of a diameter of approximately one foot. The pulley 80 isfixedly secured to the small pulley 66 for rotation therewith.Therefore, when either treadle is depressed the pulley 80 will berotated, and will shift cable 79 to the right in Figure 3. Cable 79 isconnected to a contractile spring 82 which is of a strength selected ata value such that expansion of the spring is highly limited. The spring82 serves the function of cushioning the swinging of the gate to openposition against excessive shocks, and serves the further function 4 ofpermitting movement of the cable 79 to the right in Figure 3 to a slightextent before the latch plate 24 is fully released. In other words, whena treadle is depressed, cables 79 and 54, viewing the same as in Figure3, both move simultaneously to the right in this figure of the drawing.Since cable 79 pulls the gate to open position, it is necessary thatmeans he provided for permitting initial movement of cable 79 to theright to a slight extent, during the few moments that the latch plate 24is moving to but has not been completely disengaged from its associatedkeepers 26, 28. As soon as the latch plate is disengaged fully, thecable 79, during continued rotation of the pulley caused by depressionof the treadle, exerts a pull on the gate swinging the same to its openposition.

Again, it should be noted that the diameter and particular location ofthe pulley 66 is of importance in assuring that there is suflicientrotatable movement of the pulley 80, responsive to depression of atreadle, to cause cable '79 to beshifted to an extent sufiicient tofully open the gate.

It may be understood that a hydraulic cylinder means can be employed asa shock absorber, to cushion the shock when the gate is swung fully toits open or closed positions. Such means has not been illustratedherein, but can be located wherever desired, at locations at which heavyshocks may tend to occur.

The spring 82, it may be noted, is connected to an eye 84 carried by thegate 22 inwardly a short distance from the inner end of the gate.

Referring now to Figures 4 and 5, substantially midway between thetreadle 44 and the post 14 there is embedded in the concrete slab anupstanding, tubular post 86. Vertically conjointly swingable inside-by-side relation within the post 86 are latch arms 88, having outerends projecting forwardly from the post 86 and terminating in downwardlyprojecting latching teeth 90, the outer surfaces of which are inclinedto provide cam surfaces adapted to be engaged by the latch plate 24 whenthe gate 22 is swung to its fully open position.

At their inner ends, the latch arms 88 are connected to contractilesprings 92, which are connected to the cap of the post 86, so that thelatch arms 88 are normally biased in a counterclockwise direction, withmovement of the latch arms in this direction being limited by stops 94projecting from the wall of the post 86 in position to engage the innerextremities of the latch arms.

Connected to the inner ends of the latch arms are side? by-side cables96, .98 (see Figure 5), extending to the lower end of the post 86 andextending outwardly from the post in opposite directions through buried,sleevelike housings 100, 1432. As shown in Figure 1, housings 100, 102extend to the posts 38, 40 respectively.

Referring now to Figure 2, cable 96 extends out of housing 100 into thelower end portion of post 40, and is trained about an idler pulley orroller 104 within the post, and is then connected to the inner end ofthe treadle. as a result, depression of the treadle will cause the cable96 to be pulled in a direction to swing its associated latch arm 88 in aclockwise direction viewing the latch arm as in Figure 4, that is, in adirection to elevate the teeth 96 to a releasing position.

The cable 98 is similarly associated with the treadle 74, within thepost 38. Therefore, depression of either treadle will swing both latcharms 33 upwardly. Both latch arms will swing together in view of thefact that they 7 are both fixedly connected to a shaft 106 the ends ofwhich are journalled in the side walls of the post 86.

Considering now the operation of the invention, as previously noted thegate is normally closed. A vehicle approaching from either direction isadapted to depress a treadle for the purpose of releasing the latch 24.Assuming for the sake of example that the vehicle is approaching fromthe right in Figure 1, it will first depress treadle 44. When treadle 44is depressed, cable 54 is pulled, and cable 79 is also pulled in themanner previously described, so that the latch plate 24 is retracted tofree the gate for swinging movement to open position under the pull ofthe cable 79. The gate swings to open position against the restraint ofthe spring 32. Spring 32 is of a strength insufficient to prevent thegate from swinging to open position, when the gate is being pulled uponby cable 79. When, however, neither treadle is held positivelydepressed, the pull of cable 79 no longer exists, and under thesecircumstances the spring 32 is free to pull the gate back to a closedposition.

In any event, gate 22 is swung to its open position under the pull ofcable 79 in the manner described above, and on arriving at its openposition, will automatically be latched by the latch arms 88, due to thefact that the plate 24 biases the latch arms 88 clockwise in Figure 4 bycamming engagement with the teeth 90. The gate is thus automaticallylatched, to permit passage of the vehicle.

When the vehicle passes the gate, its front wheels will depress thetreadle 74-. This will cause the cable 98 to be pulled, and aspreviously described this has the effect of rocking the latch arms 88clockwise in Figure 4, to

disengage the same from the gate 22, so that the gate 22 is now returnedto a closed position under the pull of the spring 32.

It is thus apparent that the gate when closed and latched can beapproached from either direction, with the vehicle being adapted to setinto action mechanism efiective to open the gate without requirement ofstopping the vehicle. The gate, further, is adapted to automaticallyswing to open position and latch in said open position for a timesufiicient to permit passage of the vehicle, after which the vehicleagain actuates mechanism suflicient to disengage or unlatch the gate forreturn movement, automatically, to its closed position, in which it willlatch by camming engagement of the latch plate 24 against the camsurface of the keeper 28. The invention thus has general utility in anysituation under which it is desired to normally place a gate across theroadway, with the gate to be kept normally closed at all times at whichit is not to be specifically moved to open position for the purpose ofpermitting passage of a vehicle.

It is believed apparent that the invention is not necessarily confinedto the specific use or uses thereof described above, since it may beutilized for any purpose to which it may be suited. Nor is the inventionto be necessarily limited to the specific construction illustrated anddescribed, since such construction is only intended to be illustrativeof the principles of operation and the means presently devised to carryout said principles, it being considered that the invention comprehendsany minor change in construction that may be permitted within the scopeof the appended claims.

What is claimed is:

l. A gate structure comprising a pair of fixed posts arranged in spacedrelation, a gate having an inner end and an outer end positioned betweensaid posts so as to close the space between said posts with the innerend adjacent one of said posts and the outer end adjacent the other ofsaid posts, means connecting the gate inner end to said one post formovement from the closed position to an open position in which the outerend is spacedfrom and contiguous to said one post, a latch plateslidable horizontally in the outer end of said gate and normally engagedin keeper means carried by said other post for holding said gate in theclosed position, depressible treadles positioned on opposite sides ofsaid gate, a releasable latch arm disposed between said one post and oneof said treadles and engageable with said latch plate when said gate hasbeen moved to the position in which the outer end is spaced from andcontiguous to said one post for holding the gate in open position,spring means operatively connected to said gate for biasing said gatetoward the closed position, and means connecting said latch plate andsaid latch arm to said treadles so that upon depression of either ofsaid treadles said latch plate will be moved from engagement with saidkeeper means, said gate will be moved from the closed position againstthe action of said spring means to the open position, and said latch armwill be moved after said gate has been moved to the open position intoengagement with said latch plate.

2. A gate structure according to claim 1 in which said means embodiescable and pulley means.

3. A gate structure according to claim 1 in which said means embodiescable and pulley means, and said latch arm embodies a pair of springbiased horizontally disposed spaced arms.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS741,167 Robinson Oct. 13, 1903

